Key Takeaways:
Ethena, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol built on the Ethereum (ETH) network, has witnessed remarkable growth in value. The project’s native utility and governance token ENA has surged by 20% over the last 24 hours, with its market capitalization crossing the coveted $1 billion mark.
Ethena Airdrops 750 Million ENA Under Phase 1 to USDe Delegators
Athena Labs, the entity behind the USDe stablecoin – the fifth largest USD-denominated cryptocurrency in the market – airdropped 750 million ENA tokens, totaling 5% of its total supply, to network participants and early investors on April 2nd.
Ethena has a total supply of 15 billion tokens, out of which, 1.4 billion ENA are circulating in the market.
The “Shred Campaign”, as the airdrop program was known, began on February 19th, where investors could lock their USDe as collateral in exchange for ENA tokens during the distribution phase. Those investors are now eligible to cash out their holdings.
Tuesday’s airdrop also marked the successful completion of ‘Phase 1’, with Ethena Labs now having kickstarted ‘Phase 2’. Under the second phase, “The SATS Campaign”, Ethena plans to hold Bitcoin (BTC) as collateral for its DeFi protocol.
By bringing Bitcoin into the mix, the project opens the gate for BTC perpetual contracts that will result in the inflow of an estimated $25 billion worth of open interests to the delta hedge funds. Ethena claims this will reduce the directional risk of a supported token’s price movements. Furthermore, the move shows a 2.5x increase in the Ethereum futures perpetual.
Binance Lists ENA For Trade, Helping the Token Surge 60% in a Week
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, announced the listing of ENA on April 2nd, leading to an explosion in its market cap, which hit $1.89 billion at its peak.
The leading crypto exchange has made Ethena available across its key offerings such as Binance Simple Earn, Binance Convert, Binance Margin, Binance Futures, and Binance Auto-Invest. ENA is currently available under the Simple Earn and Convert programs, with integrations to Binance’s remaining headline services coming soon.
Interested users can acquire Ethena starting April 4th by subscribing to ENA Flexible Products on Binance Simple Earn or leveraging supported payment options on Binance Auto-Invest.
Additionally, users can trade ENA against prominent cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and USDT on Binance Convert without incurring any trading fees. Binance Margin is also set to introduce ENA as a new borrowable crypto asset.
The Binance listing led to Ethena experiencing a remarkable surge in market activity as investors became more interested and confident in the token’s potential. ENA price rose from $0.30 to over $0.84 soon after the announcement.
BitMEX Founder Predicts Ethena (ENA) to Hit $10
Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of the BitMEX exchange and someone well-known for their uncanny ability to predict market trends had recently stirred up excitement in the project by forecasting that ENA could rally to a $10 per token valuation.
Ethena’s market capitalization currently stands at $1.39 billion, with its fully diluted market cap, which signifies the value proposition of the token at its maximum supply, close to hitting $15 billion.
At the time of writing, ENA is trading at $0.994 – up 22.6% in the last 24 hours.
